CATO Podcast

Episode 53: Episode Sound Doctrine- Chapter 3 Nature of Commanding

This episode of the podcast discusses Chapter Three of Sound Doctrine. Marcus and guests Travis Norton and Adam Sharki discuss Command and Control, the challenges of selecting a commander, and what it means to command effectively.  

Episode 52: Attorney Gene Ramirez-Will law enforcement lose bite dogs in California

Attorney Gene Ramirez was a founding member of CATO and has spent the last several decades defending law enforcement officers in civil court. Gene discusses California Assembly Bill 742, which bans law enforcement's use of bite dogs. Gene also discusses his lessons learned from defending officers and how we arrived at a push by the legislature to ban police bite dogs. For more information on AB742, click here https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB742. Gene Ramirez can be contacted at epr@manningllp.com

Episode 51: Challenges of Collateral Hostage Negotiations Team

Marcus sits down with Nolan Cleall, who has served on a mid-sized Northern California agency's HNT Team for the last ten years. The two discuss his experiences on a collateral Hostage Negotiation Team. They review common approaches to training SWAT/HNT integration and cover some tools you can implement today to develop a comprehensive approach to solving tactical problems. Nolan is also a whiskey aficionado and has some surprising things to say about peanut butter whiskey. Nolan can be reached at ncleall@sbcglobal.net

Episode 50: Novelty- What you need to know before you face it

Lt Travis Norton and Lt Adam Sharki join Marcus to discuss the concept of "novelty." What does it mean? Why does it make us all amateurs? They'll cover strategies you can use today to enhance your response to these "novel" and critical events.

Episode 49: Taking Care of Your Team

CATO President Brent Stratton sits down with Nick Sprague, the President of the Rocky Mountain Tactical Team Association (RMTTA). The two discuss how to take care of your team, both professionally and personally. They also cover the importance of debriefs--even when they hurt--and the similarities and differences between CATO and RMTTA. Finally, they explore Brent's obsession with Peanut Butter Whiskey...we try not to judge.

Episode 48: Optimizing your health- a conversation with Dr. Graham Simpson

In this episode, Brent and I sit down with retired Navy Seal Command Master Chief Jason Tuschen and world-renowned author, Dr. Graham Simpson, who is the medical director for Opt Health. 

Military and first responders share many similar health problems during and after their service. I asked Jason and Dr. Simpson to explore the common health issues found in our communities and how we should be addressing them.

In the past, we’ve discussed how our body keeps score, so think of this episode as a continuation of that conversation. Are we doing the best for our bodies so, when we survive this career, we can actually enjoy all the things we said we were going to do?

 

Eternity HFLC NON-VEGETARIAN DIETARY GUIDELINES

Episode 47: Unified Command lessons during mass casualty events with Jim Etzin

Marcus Sprague and Kris Jenny sit down with Fire Training Division Manager Jim Etzin.  Jim has been involved with the tactical community since serving as a corpsman in Desert Storm and as a combat medicine instructor for the 1st Marine Division.  Jim attended LASD SEB SWAT school and has dedicated his life to enhancing our response to large events.  He is also the founder of the  North American Active Assailant Conference (NAAAC). Jim's unique blend of education and experience has also led him to develop a High Risk Unified Command class that discusses lessons learned from real life events, as well as how law enforcement, fire and EMS can work together to enhance our response and save more lives.

Episode 46: Shifting the paradigm of ropes training with Dana Vilander

Is your ropes program ascending to meet the needs of contemporary tactical problems? Marcus Sprague sits down with a longtime friend of CATO, Dana Vilander. Dana has partnered with CATO in presenting Tactical Rope Access courses and has decades of experience in the tactical community as an operator and medic. They discuss Dana's unique background and how he blended his tactical experiences with his medical training and rescue work to form VTC training.

Episode 45: Echelon Front’s Codey Gandey

Kevin Cyr (RCMP SWAT) joins Marcus with Echelon Front's Codey Gandey.  Codey is part of the Echelon Front staff and is the lead for their First Responder Training program.  Codey has worked with a variety of agencies and has personally worked with Kevin's full-time swat team in British Columbia.  The group discusses common challenges agencies face and how Echelon can help your team succeed.

Episode 44: From Atlanta to the Middle East, A conversation with Randy Wagner

Marcus sits down with the Deputy Director of the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center to discuss the importance of fusion centers.  Randy started his career as a patrol officer in Atlanta Georgia. However, he spent the majority of his career working for the Drug Enforcement Agency.  His final assignment with the DEA was as the Regional Director of the Middle East.  After a brief stint in the private sector he became the Deputy Director of NICRIC.  Randy shares his lessons learned and his perspective spans from patrol to the Middle East and how what officers do can impact LE efforts around the world.